[Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Thelonius Monk and Henry Grimes, Chuck Berry, Chico Hamilton, Anita O’Day, Sonny Stitt, Dinah Washington, Gerry Mulligan]

Jazz On A Summer’s Day [unused design for promotional material]

np: np, 1959. Hand drawn graphite, ink, and paint on paper. Two 16 x 18 1/4 in. sheets stapled to board., framed to 17 3/4 x 20 in. Paper discolored commensurate with age, paste residue on verso and staples at corners with holes from prior staples. Very good. Item #5352

Draft for a commercially unused design for Bert Stern’s 1959 film Jazz On A Summer’s Day. A classic of music documentary and concert film (perhaps the first concert film made), the movie was shot at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. Featuring rousing and intimate performances by Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Thelonius Monk and Henry Grimes, Chuck Berry, Chico Hamilton, Anita O’Day, and other stars of the time, the film cuts between performances and footage of jazz fans and revelers enjoying a beautiful summer day. The result is a portrait of not just the performers but the elan and brio that characterized the jazz scene when it was the hippest and coolest music in the world. As one contemporaneous reviewer wrote: "as generous a dish of top jazz music as any cat could take in one gulp."

The lettering bears a striking resemblance to that on the original poster and a 1961 7" release of a selection of songs Louis Armstrong performed at the festival. The artist–likely employed in the art department of Galaxy Productions–is unknown.

Sold